


tell me honestly and look me in the eyes (i’m already falling in deep)

by fir8008



Category: JBJ (Band), Longguo & Shihyun (Band), Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Hook-Up, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Miscommunication, jbj is a fraternity, rated for language, yongguk and shihyun can't read each other's signs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-27 13:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16219802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fir8008/pseuds/fir8008
Summary: There’s a rumor going around the music department (and it gets worse)Or, communication is key





	tell me honestly and look me in the eyes (i’m already falling in deep)

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello! here it is! the last of the four wips of the apocalypse i outlined in january! this one really did leave me hanging and took ten months to happen so after writing this on and off (but mostly off) i still hope it's okay! this is so different from what i originally had planned out but that's how things go... 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! 
> 
>  
> 
> Title comes from Produce 48 (Hot Issue of National Producers)'s "Rumor"

There’s a rumor going around the music department that tickles Yongguk’s ears. 

Freshman Kim Shihyun asked out senior Kim Sohee - not to be confused with the freshman Kim Sohee who was dating junior Kim Sanggyun - and he got rejected. Talk to a couple more people and there’s more to the story, Sohee rejected Shihyun by slapping him across the face. Yongguk winces a little, feeling bad for the kid. Sohee’s arms are deceptively slim and actually hold a lot of strength. Yongguk knows from experience, because he had seen Sohee and Shihyun talking and saw Sohee staring at him and asking Shihyun, “what, him?” one day, and the next day Sohee had punched the back of Yongguk’s head for seemingly no reason at all. 

Yongguk, in his bafflement, had asked his friends to help him recall how he might have offended Kim Sohee, goddess of the music department who brought men to their knees, when he was just junior Kim Yongguk, who mainly kept to himself and rarely made waves. His friends, being useless, had concluded that Yongguk clearly did Something and that he was absolutely beyond help if Sohee had decided he was trash.

Yongguk decides that as strange as the rumor is, since it doesn’t concern him, he just won’t pay attention to it. 

 

There’s a rumor going around the music department, but it’s not particularly accurate. 

Yes, Shihyun asked out Sohee. Yes, Sohee slapped Shihyun. 

And yes, it does concern Yongguk. 

People might not know it, but Sohee and Shihyun are childhood friends. Despite Sohee’s gentle demeanor, she had a hidden brusqueness that rarely came out. So when Shihyun had asked Sohee out without any sincerity, Sohee smacked him to bring him back to his senses. The rumors won’t say that Shihyun thanked her for hitting him which only made Sohee smack him again, telling him to stop saying weird things. Sohee had made Shihyun explain himself and Shihyun had reluctantly explained that there was an upperclassman he was crushing on and he hoped that being seen on a date with Sohee would prompt his crush to do something. Sohee almost smacked him a third time before sighing and exasperatedly telling Shihyun to stop watching so many dramas. 

“What kind of a man would he be if he saw us on a date and thought, ‘hmm, this is the perfect time to confess my undying love for Kim Shihyun’?” Sohee tapped her foot impatiently. When Shihyun didn’t answer her, she huffed. “A sleaze.” 

Shihyun had begun to sulk as they walked to the cafeteria when Sohee stopped and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “What’s his name?” 

Shihyun had meekly nodded towards Kim Yongguk, sitting at one of the big tables with his fraternity brothers. 

Sohee’s jaw dropped. “What, him?” 

Shihyun had nodded. 

“You’re not allowed to date a frat boy.” Sohee said dismissively. “Over my dead body. My. Cold. Dead. Body.” 

“Noona.” 

“Absolutely not.” Sohee sighed. “You’re too young and impressionable, Shihyunie. Noona will set you up with a nice boy.” She pats his shoulder. “Is that okay?” 

“It’s fine, noona, he doesn’t even know who I am.” Shihyun had sighed, glancing over at Yongguk wistfully. 

 

The thing is, Yongguk does know Shihyun. 

Yongguk met him in the campus bookstore, when he was sitting behind the counter, reading a book with a long foreign title, and rolling a lollipop between his plush pink lips. Yongguk lingered, pretending like he didn’t know what book he wanted to pick hoping the boy behind the counter would come help him, but he didn’t, so Yongguk dropped a book about cat behavior onto the counter and leaned across it. 

“Is that an interesting book?” 

The boy looked at him with big, dark hooded eyes and they sparkled as they looked Yongguk up and down. 

“I’m not sure yet,” he demurred, sliding off his stool. “I just started reading it.” He picked up Yongguk’s book to scan it. “Do you like cats?” 

“Yes,” Yongguk smiled. “I’m raising one now.” 

The boy looked up at him as he slid the book into an envelope. “You know there are stray cats behind this bookshop?” 

“There are?” 

The boy nodded. “Do you want to see them?” 

Yongguk nodded eagerly as he tapped his credit card against the scanner and followed the boy into the back of the shop. Yongguk had a soft sense of dread in his stomach from watching too many horror movies. Wouldn’t this be the part of the movie where Yongguk gets knocked over the head with a blunt object and then tied up and tortured under the bookshop? 

All horror movie thoughts left his head as soon as the boy pointed out a cardboard box sheltering a small litter of kittens. Yongguk melted. They’re adorable. He crouched and stuck out his hand, letting them sniff curiously at him. He must have smelled like his own cat because they didn’t approach him very easily. He pouted a bit, but let them continue to sniff and rebuff him. 

“I feed them,” the boy said conversationally. “But they just still just come and go as they please. But they’re cute, aren’t they?” 

“Really cute,” Yongguk confirmed as one of the kittens sank its teeth into the tip of his finger. “I really love kittens.”

“I always wanted a cat but I could never get one,” the boy added fondly. “Taking care of these ones is a pretty good setup though.” 

“It’s really nice of you to feed them, even if they’re just alleycats,” Yongguk said. 

“I need to get back to work,” the boy said. “But feel free to spend as much time as you want back here. Don’t steal our stock or anything.” 

“I’m good,” Yongguk said, rising. “Thanks for showing me this.” 

“No problem.” Yongguk followed the boy back to the front of the store. “Hope that book helps with your cat at home.” The boy returned to his place on the stool behind the counter and opened his book. 

Yongguk spent the next few days trying to think of a good reason to go back to the bookshop. He didn’t really need any more books about cats, the one he bought was decently comprehensive. He also didn’t read much for leisure so it would just be a waste of money to buy a book just to see if the boy was there again. Then again, Yongguk could always ask him for recommendations… 

So Yongguk found himself back in the bookshop the next week peering at shelves and trying to look like he was deep in thought, which was difficult because Yongguk usually wasn’t thinking about anything at all. The boy was there behind the counter in the same position, just with a different book. 

“Looking for more books about cats?” he asked when he finally noticed Yongguk. 

“Uh, no, actually I was looking for something to read for fun.” Yongguk scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Do you have any recommendations?” 

The boy hopped off his stool. “Sure. What kinds of books do you like?” 

Yongguk figured if he likes horror movies, he’ll probably like horror books so he went with that. The boy took him down one of the aisles and showed him a bunch of foreign titles. “This one’s pretty scary,” he said showing Yongguk one book. 

“I’ll try it,” Yongguk said, flipping through the pages. 

While the boy rang him up, Yongguk attempted small talk. “How are the alleycats?” 

“Oh, they’re the same,” he said, putting the book in an envelope. “Being cats. Wandering around and playing by themselves.” 

“My name is Yongguk,” Yongguk said tapping his credit card against the scanner. 

The boy smiled up at him. He has a really pretty smile. “I’m Kim Shihyun.” 

 

Shihyun is at work when Yongguk comes up to the counter and slams a book onto it. Shihyun jumps and glances at Yongguk with startled eyes. 

“This scared me shitless,” Yongguk says accusingly. 

“Sorry,” Shihyun squeaks. 

“Is there something less… horrifying?” Yongguk asks. “I jump every time I hear a noise.” 

“Well sure,” Shihyun hops off his stool and scoots around the counter to guide Yongguk back to the horror section. He stands on his tiptoes to scan the shelves for something. He glances at Yongguk. “Excuse me, but…” Shihyun gulps. “What qualifies scary? 

Yongguk blinks at him rapidly. “Just. Nevermind. Can I exchange this for something?” 

“Sure,” Shihyun is flustered, unsure of what to do with himself as he pulls books off the shelf. “Do any of these look interesting?” 

Yongguk glances and grabs one and shrugs. “I’ll try this.” 

While Shihyun is ringing up the exchange, Yongguk leans on the counter. 

“Since you paid with your card, you have to sign again,” Shihyun says as he tears the receipt and slides it across the counter. 

Yongguk nods and as he’s signing, he says casually, “My frat is throwing a party tomorrow night. A couple of our members are on the hockey team and they have a game. If they win, we’ll have a huge celebration, if they lose, we’ll just drink our sorrows.”

“That sounds fun,” Shihyun tries to sound neutral as he opens and shuts the register again and places Yongguk’s returned book behind the counter.

“You can come if you want to,” Yongguk says, and Shihyun finally meets his gaze. 

“Sure,” Shihyun squeaks. 

 

“Oh, Shihyunie, you look so cute.” 

Shihyun pouts and Sohee snorts. 

“He isn’t trying to look cute. He’s trying to catch a man.” Sohee says. 

Chaekyung nods. “Some guys like cute, though. It’s good to be cute.” 

“I don’t know what kind of guy he likes,” Shihyun can’t help but whine. He dragged half of his clothes to Sohee’s dorm only to met with her indifference and pajamas. 

“You’re interrupting our end of week pajama movie marathon,” Sohee had informed him. 

“But noona, I need help,” Shihyun had whined until Sohee caved.

Chaekyung raises her fist. “Fighting, Shihyunie.” 

“Thank you, sunbae,” Shihyun sighs. 

Sohee hands him a shirt. “This one will do.” 

“Noona, you’re not even looking at it!” 

“It’s a frat party,” Sohee says distastefully. “Not Fashion Week.” 

“But I want to look nice,” Shihyun mumbles. 

“This does look nice,” Sohee says. “This shirt looks nice with the jeans you’re wearing and you don’t look like you’re trying too hard.” 

“Do I look like I’m trying too hard?” Shihyun asks, stricken. 

“Way too hard,” Sohee confirms. “You go in looking too eager and guys will probably try picking you up and following you home.” Sohee glances at him. “I expect you to call me if any frat boy gets too fresh with you. I’ll take care of them.” 

“Noona!” 

Sohee pushes him out the door. “Have fun, Shihyunie!” 

 

The frat house is easy enough to find - the house is basically vibrating from how loud the music is - and Shihyun walks up to the door only to see an insanely tall guy at the door. 

“Five thousand won,” the guy says, his voice shockingly deep. 

Shihyun swallows dryly and goes fumbling for his wallet. 

“Hyunbinnie, no, this guy’s with me.” 

Shihyun’s head snaps up at the sound of Yongguk’s voice. 

“Yonggukkie hyung has a guest?’ the tall guy scoffs. 

Yongguk nods and grabs Shihyun by the elbow and tows him inside, past the tall guy. “There’s usually a cover cost at the door for guys,” Yongguk explains. “Unless you’re someone’s guest. I forgot to say, and I don’t usually bring anyone.” 

“I could’ve paid,” Shihyun says, feeling a tiny bit out of breath. “It wouldn’t have been a problem.” 

“Don’t let Hyunbin scare you,” Yongguk shrugs. “He’s just a freshman, that’s why we stick him at the door. What do you want to drink?” 

“Beer’s fine,” Shihyun manages to squeak as Yongguk drags him through a throng of people, almost all of whom give Shihyun a blatant once over as they pass. 

“Yonggukkie!” The loud voice comes from behind Shihyun and then throws an arm over his shoulder. “Who is this?”

“His name is Shihyun, he works at the campus bookstore,” Yongguk replies. 

Shihyun bows and the loud guy laughs. “Since when do you read books?” 

“Shut up,” Yongguk grumbles. 

“My name is Taehyun,” the loud guy grins. “Just call me hyung.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Taehyun. Hyung.” Shihyun feels very awkward and cowed as Taehyun laughs. 

“He’s so shy, how cute. I didn’t know this was your type.” 

Yongguk’s face flares up slightly red as Yongguk grabs two tall cans of beer in one hand and grabs Shihyun by the arm and tows him away from Taehyun. 

“Sorry about him,” Yongguk says a bit gruffly, handing Shihyun a beer. “I don’t usually bring people around.” 

“It’s fine,” Shihyun says, cracking open the can and taking a long drink. He hopes the beer will help settle his nerves a bit. “Did your friend win his game?” 

“Huh? Yeah, he did.” Yongguk says as someone in a hockey jersey descends from the stairs and the crowd starts to cheer. 

“Kim Sanggyun! Kim Sanggyun!” 

Shihyun is watching a girl push her way through the crowd of people until she reaches the guy in the hockey jersey and jumps into his arms. They kiss and the crowd starts hooting at them. 

“I know her,” Shihyun says. “I have a class with her.” 

“They’re dating,” Yongguk says. Like that’s not obvious.

“They’re a cute couple,” Shihyun adds, trying to make conversation, but Yongguk just shrugs. 

“I guess,” he says. 

Shihyun takes another long swig of his beer. He’s starting to regret coming here. He feels woefully out of place in a sea of unfamiliar faces and a guy that’s somehow much harder to talk to over the blasting EDM than he is in the bookstore when it’s just the two of them and the humming of the air conditioner. 

“Do you want to go upstairs?” Yongguk asks. “It’s quieter up there.” 

Shihyun can almost hear Sohee’s voice in his head telling him not to, but honestly, Shihyun wants to get farther away from the loud music so he follows Yongguk up the stairs and into a hall of what looks like bedrooms. Shihyun begins to feel a little nervous as Yongguk opens a door and Shihyun follows him inside.

“Hyunbin’s my roommate,” Yongguk says, “so no one will barge in.”

It is much quieter upstairs, and so Shihyun sits awkwardly on the edge of Yongguk’s bed and Yongguk sits beside him. Shihyun’s heart is suddenly pounding too, but maybe that’s from the beer and not Yongguk’s proximity to him. 

“Where’s the cat you’re raising?” Shihyun asks, searching for something to talk about it. 

“Probably hiding,” Yongguk says. “It’s noisy.” 

“Probably,” Shihyun nods, trying to not obviously fidget. “You know,” he adds, trying to fill an oncoming silence. “Parties aren’t really my thing.” 

Yongguk shrugs. “Not my thing either.” Yongguk looks at him. “Wanna make out?” 

Shihyun must have heard that wrong. “Do I want to what?” 

“Make out?” Yongguk is asking but his hand is on the back of Shihyun’s neck and he’s leaning forward and pressing his lips against Shihyun’s. 

Yongguk’s lips are surprisingly soft against Shihyun’s and Shihyun leans into the kiss, wondering if he was missing whatever signs Yongguk was sending that he was interested. But when Yongguk starts shifting his weight on top of Shihyun, Shihyun pulls away and blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. 

“I have to go home.” 

And legs it. 

 

Yongguk wakes up under the kitchen table with the worst hangover of his life. He hits his head on a chair crawling out from under it and sits up blearily to see Sohee digging in their fridge wearing Sanggyun’s hockey jersey (and possibly only his hockey jersey). She closes the fridge after she finds the milk. She catches sight of Yongguk and opens the carton. 

“You look like shit,” she informs him, taking a swig. 

“So do you,” Yongguk mutters as he staggers to his feet.

“Fuck you,” she says, opening the fridge again and replacing the milk. 

“Don’t drink our milk out of the carton like that,” Yongguk says but Sohee is walking away. 

Yongguk crawls up to his room and finds Hyunbin curled up in his bed with Tolbi sleeping on his back. Yongguk carefully picks up his cat and flops down in his bed, promptly passing out again. He wakes up feeling groggier and worse than before but he drags himself back down to the kitchen and slumps over on the table with a yawn. 

“Rough night?” Taehyun asks as he fixes himself a bowl of cereal. 

Yongguk grunts and lifts his head as he sees Taehyun pouring milk. He looks over to see Sanggyun texting. “Where’s Sohee?” 

“Went home,” Sanggyun replies. 

“Tell her to stop drinking straight out of the milk carton,” Yongguk says. 

“Why?” 

“Who knows where her mouth’s been? You might as well stick your dick straight into it.” 

Taehyun sprays cereal across the table. 

 

“What happened?” 

Shihyun unconsciously lets out a nervous giggle. “Nothing happened. What do you mean?” 

“Kim Shihyun.” Sohee is glaring at him. It’s not really fair for her to do that to him when she’s still wearing pajamas and her hair looks like a bird’s nest. 

Shihyun knows better than to lie, so he shrugs. “We kissed.” 

“Who kissed?” 

“Me and Yongguk.” 

“What did I say about you and frat boys…” 

“We’re not going out!” Shihyun says hastily. “It was just a drunk kiss!” 

Sohee cracks her knuckles. “Do I need to go kick someone’s ass?” 

“No! Noona, I’m fine. I bet he doesn’t even remember it happening!” 

Except Yongguk clearly must remember, because Yongguk is in the bookstore again and this time he’s not even pretending to look for a book and Shihyun resists the urge to crawl under the counter to hide.

“Hey,” Yongguk says. 

“Hi there,” Shihyun hopes he isn’t squeaking. “Do you need help with something?” 

“Your phone number.” Yongguk slides his phone across the counter. “If I want to talk to you but I don’t have any books I need to buy.” 

“Sure,” Shihyun is definitely squeaking now as he puts his number into Yongguk’s phone. 

“I’ll text you,” Yongguk says. 

And he does, Shihyun can feel his phone vibrate once in his pocket while he’s in class. When he checks it afterwards, Yongguk has only texted one thing, his name. Shihyun adds his number to his contacts and then puzzles over what to respond. He thinks of writing back, “Shihyun,” but Yongguk seems humorless enough to inform him that he already knows who Shihyun is, so Shihyun thinks out what else he can write. He bumps into one of Sohee’s roommates and he gets distracted talking to her, slipping his phone back into his pocket and chatting with Haein, letting her talk him into joining her and Hyeri for lunch. Texting back completely slips his mind until Shihyun gets home and he empties his pockets onto his night table. His phone buzzes and Shihyun goes to check it. 

Shihyun drops his phone on the floor after reading the message.

 

Yongguk is annoyed. Okay, no, not annoyed. But annoyed. No, not that annoyed. A little annoyed. A tiny bit annoyed. Only a teeny tiny bit.

He texted Shihyun once he got back to his dorm, but Shihyun had read the message and hadn’t texted back. It’s been hours and Shihyun hasn’t texted him. Hours. 

Yongguk has his phone face up on the table as he pretends to read Kenta’s class notes, pretending like anything Kenta’s written makes sense, so he doesn’t notice Sanggyun sliding his phone over to him, unlocking it - because Yongguk doesn’t use a password - and tapping out a message, and sliding it back. Yongguk reaches for it, unconsciously, unlocking the screen and looking to see what Sanggyun had done. 

Yongguk comes this close to punching Sanggyun. 

“Dude, what the fuck!” he yelps. 

“What’d he do?” Kenta leans over the table to look at Yongguk’s screen.

In Yongguk’s chat with Shihyun, Shihyun still hasn’t messaged him, but Yongguk (Sanggyun) has texted again. “Send nudes” with a winky face. And the one has just disappeared from the text bubble meaning Shihyun has read it. 

“Really?” Yongguk splutters. 

Sanggyun shrugs. “He’s already not texting back, so the worst is he keeps on ignoring you and the best is you get a nude.” 

“He could have been in class or at work! Sanggyun, what the fuck!” 

Yongguk begins to panic infinitely more when Shihyun still doesn’t answer after reading it and he kicks at his blankets irritably. He kissed Shihyun and had hoped that Shihyun would have stayed, but Shihyun ran, so maybe Yongguk had been misreading the signs that whole time. Shihyun had asked out Sohee, so maybe Yongguk was barking up the wrong tree this whole time. Honestly. The one time Yongguk took Kenta’s advice and “ran with it” he totally fucked it up and then Sanggyun, douche of the year, fucked it up more and you know what Yongguk is never going to take advice from his dumb friends ever again and… 

Yongguk’s phone pings and Yongguk looks at the message and almost drops his phone. Yongguk rushes to put clothes on and nearly trips on the way down the stairs. 

“Where are you going?” Kenta calls from the couch where he, Hyunbin, and Sanggyun are watching a movie. 

Yongguk points out the door. “I’m going to go jump in the Han River.” 

Kenta shrugs. “Okay, bye.” 

Yongguk continues rushing out the door, only stopping short when he realizes his friends are totally cool with him jumping into the Han River and fucking off and drowning, and then picks up the pace, thinking that friendship really is dead. 

 

Shihyun opens his door to Yongguk who looks rather hot and bothered and Shihyun feels pretty embarrassed. “Hi,” he manages as he lets Yongguk in. 

“Hey,” Yongguk says. His eyes are darting around Shihyun’s little studio. 

“Um. Do you want something to drink?” Shihyun asks and immediately kicks himself. He highly doubts Yongguk wants anything to drink. (If Yongguk was thirsty, it was a different kind of thirst.) 

Shihyun had been startled out of his mind when he read the message about sending nudes. And as far as anyone knew, Shihyun wasn’t that type of kid, so he didn’t send a picture of himself nude. He unzipped his jeans and pushed them down just enough to expose the tattoo on his hip and pulled up his shirt to reveal the flatness of his stomach and took an awkwardly angled picture. Yongguk had texted back immediately, “do you live alone?” and it went from there. 

“I’m good,” Yongguk says. “Do you wanna just…?” 

“Sure,” Shihyun says. 

Yongguk closes the distance between them and pulls Shihyun flush against him as he kisses him hard and sucks the air out of Shihyun’s lungs. His hands are flat against the small of Shihyun’s back as he kisses him hungrily, slipping his tongue into Shihyun’s mouth. 

“You’re a good kisser,” Shihyun says breathlessly. 

“You too,” Yongguk’s hands migrate to Shihyun’s belt. “You’ve done this before?” 

“Yes,” Shihyun answers, as Yongguk yanks off his belt and starts working on his own jeans. Shihyun strips off the rest of his clothes and sits down nervously on his bed as Yongguk hovers over him. “Oh,” Shihyun says, reaching up to touch the words on Yongguk’s chest. “You have a tattoo.” 

“Yeah, it’s cringey though,” Yongguk shrugs. He glances down at Shihyun’s hip. “You too.” 

“Yeah,” Shihyun starts babbling as Yongguk leans down to start kissing his neck. “I took a trip to China and my host family’s son had one and I really liked it so I got one in a similar place.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah, we did it a few times too, Zhengting was really great about everything I hadn’t done it before and he made me really comfortable even though we had a little trouble communicating…” 

Shihyun remembers Zhengting, tall muscled Zhengting with a disarmingly sweet smile, and he always made Shihyun feel good and Shihyun loved tracing Zhengting’s tattoo with the tip of his tongue and feeling Zhengting’s hand tensed in his hair. 

“You don’t have like a,” Yongguk scrunches up his face. “Like a Chinese person fetish, do you?” 

“Do I have a what!” Shihyun shoves Yongguk off of him and Yongguk lands flat on his ass. 

“Oww, sorry,” Yongguk stands up gingerly. “I’m Chinese so I just wondered…” 

“I didn’t know that,” Shihyun huffs. “With a name like Kim Yongguk how was I supposed to know you’re Chinese?” 

“Yeah, yeah, that makes sense,” Yongguk says. “Do you still want to?” 

“If you’ve established that I’m not fetishizing you…” Shihyun huffs and Yongguk cuts him off by kissing him again. “Guess so,” Shihyun says when Yongguk pulls away for air, lips swollen and eyes dark. 

“Should we get on with it?” Yongguk asks and Shihyun nods as Yongguk pins him to the mattress and begins kissing him in earnest. 

 

Shihyun wakes up disoriented and foggy. He’s slightly sore but more apparent than that, he’s alone. He didn’t really take Yongguk as the kind of guy to sneak out before Shihyun woke up, but then again Yongguk didn’t seem like the type to ask Shihyun for nudes but he was. And Shihyun guesses, he didn’t think he was the type to hook up with someone and not know it was a one night thing, but apparently he was. 

It’s fine if Yongguk was only interested in sleeping with him - since that seems to be the case as Shihyun shuffles around his room trying to get dressed - but for some reason it bothers Shihyun a bit. 

Well, it probably bothers Shihyun because he was crushing on Yongguk for so long only to discover Yongguk was just looking to get laid and maybe Shihyun was feeling a little stupid and sleazy for going along with it. 

“Would you like me to trip him down the stairs of the music building?” Sohee asks him after Shihyun snots the story all over her. 

“No,” he sniffles. “You’ll kill him if you do.” 

“Well that’s the point,” Sohee sighs and scoots closer to him, patting Shihyun’s head. “It’d be worth it. He’s just a frat boy. You’ll meet someone nicer.”

“But I really liked him,” Shihyun whines.

Sohee sighs. “I know, Shihyunie.”

 

Yongguk has a reason for sneaking out of Shihyun’s studio before he woke up. He had a morning class where attendance mattered. As much as he would’ve liked to sleep in and cuddle, he wasn’t trying to flunk out of school. He probably should have left a note, but that felt kind of uncomfortable, and it’s not like Shihyun had any cute stationery laying around for Yongguk to write “hey have to go to class thanks for the shag” or something like that. He thought about texting, but that seemed worse than a note. 

Yongguk was getting around to telling himself to call Shihyun and explain why he snuck out and apologize and maybe do a normal person thing like ask Shihyun out on a real date (which was the scary part of this whole situation). He was really going to call but he spaced out for one second too long and dropped his phone in the toilet and his phone had no chances of surviving. Even after burying it in rice it wasn’t coming back to life so Yongguk had to drag his disgruntled ass to the Apple Store and listen to some guy tell him he didn’t have the right care plan for water damage or some other thing but Yongguk argued falling in the toilet shouldn’t count as water per say but the guy didn’t budge and Yongguk internally cried as he shelled out the money for a new phone. 

So Yongguk did not get a chance to tell Shihyun he did not sneak out of his place because he was escaping after a one night stand.

Yongguk tells himself to just go visit Shihyun at the bookstore after class because face to face contact would obviously be the most personal and perhaps least weird way to talk about not meaning to sneak out. Yongguk is even on his way there when it happens. 

Shihyun’s Sohee (not to be confused with Sanggyun’s Sohee, who has been spending more and more time at the frat house and maybe it’s rattling Yongguk’s nerves a bit whenever he sees Sohee eating his food) is walking in his direction, arm in arm with a dark haired girl Yongguk thinks is named Suhyun (not to be confused with the girl Hyunbin claims to be dating, Soohyun, even though no one has met her and she doesn’t go to their uni so he’s probably lying she probably doesn’t even exist). Shihyun’s Sohee isn’t paying attention to Yongguk, even as she brushes past him as they walk. Yongguk isn’t even going to say anything about her bumping him until he feels Sohee’s platform heel hooking around his ankle and there goes her superwoman strength again because Yongguk is lifted off the ground and completely loses his footing and falls flat on his face. Shihyun’s Sohee and Suhyun look at him over their shoulders disdainfully and titter together as they keep walking away. 

This is like the head punching incident all over again. 

Yongguk perhaps hasn’t been thinking critically about Sohee and Shihyun’s relationship. Shihyun allegedy asked Sohee out, but Sohee rejected him (by slapping him). Sohee punched him in the head. But Shihyun had slept with Yongguk. And now Sohee has tripped him in the hall. Sohee is Shihyun’s friend. Perhaps Sohee is a hitman. Perhaps asking her out on a date is code for needing someone dead. Perhaps Sohee is trying to kill him because he snuck out of Shihyun’s studio. 

Shit. 

Yongguk finally makes it to the bookstore and spots Shihyun behind the counter. The problem is, Shihyun doesn’t look terribly thrilled to see him. 

“Hey,” Yongguk says. “About the other night…” 

“It’s fine!” Shihyun says quickly. “I understand. You know how to rail a guy, but your bedside manner isn’t all that.” He shrugs. “I get it.” 

That’s not really what Yongguk expected, or intended to say. “Well, no, what I meant was…” 

“Do you need help finding something?” Shihyun asks. “I shouldn’t be chatting about other things on my shift.” 

Yongguk glances around the bookstore, which is empty as usual, and gets the message. He has fucked up. 

“No,” Yongguk says. 

Shit. Maybe he should have left a note. 

 

Shihyun snots all over Sohee again, weeping about the bookstore encounter and honestly if Yongguk wasn’t interested in him why was he still hanging around? Sohee lets slip that she tripped Yongguk in the hall and Shihyun makes tiny distressed noises until Sohee reassures him that she didn’t trip him down the stairs, just tripped him so he fell. Shihyun pouts until Sohee pinches his cheeks and contends Yonggkuk definitely deserved it. 

Shihyun feels decidedly worse when his phone starts lighting up with messages from Yongguk. 

Sohee tells him to ignore them, but Shihyun can’t help but to read them in the previews. Yongguk is apologizing, which is nice, but Shihyun would have to open the message to read his reasoning. Admittedly, Shihyun wants to know what Yongguk is apologizing for. Was he apologizing for sneaking out? Coming to the bookstore? Existing? Shihyun was curious. 

So Shihyun sneaks a peek at the messages, figuring if it’s not something he wants to see, he could always leave Yongguk on read.

Shihyun’s heart beats a little faster reading Yongguk’s messages. Yongguk is sorry he left that morning. He had wanted to stay but he had a class he couldn’t skip. He thought about leaving a note but thought it was weird. He was going to call but he broke his phone. By the time he went to go see Shihyun in person, Sohee had already tripped him and Shihyun was acting cold. He was sorry for things getting weird and wanted to make it right.

Shihyun bites his lip. He isn’t sure if he wants to believe Yongguk. Well, he was sure that he wanted to believe, but he wasn’t sure if Yongguk was just saying things so Shihyun would forgive him and give him another chance. Shihyun is sure Sohee’s going to be annoyed at him, but he does want to give Yongguk another chance. 

Shihyun’s phone buzzes again. Yongguk has sent a picture of a cat, saying Shihyun never got to meet the kitten he was raising, but that Tolbi, the kitten, wanted to meet Shihyun, and wanted his butler to ask Shihyun on a date. 

Shihyun gathers up his nerves and makes a decision. 

 

Yongguk is moping at a cafeteria table. Shihyun had read his text but hadn’t answered. It was becoming very clear Yongguk had royally fucked up. 

“This is your fault,” he whines at Kenta. “You told me to run with it’ and this is what happens when I take your advice.” 

“I’m not the one who prioritized going to class over cuddling with a guy in bed,” Kenta snorts. 

“Not the point. I never would have had to choose if not for you…” 

Hyunbin elbows him in the side and Yongguk looks up to Shihyun striding towards the table. He sits up straighter, a little bit eager and hopeful.

Shihyun stops short in front of them. He’s only looking at Yongguk. 

“Did you mean it?” he asks. 

Yongguk suppresses the need to ask what Shihyun is referring to and simply says, “Yes.” 

Shihyun gulps in a little breath. “Where are you taking me on our first date?” 

Kenta and Hyunbin are staring at him with bulging eyeballs. Yongguk feels a little sweaty. “Out for meat. Barbeque. I’ll pay.” 

“Drinks too?” 

“Of course.” 

“And before we go out you have to meet my noona. Officially.” 

Yongguk wants to whine. “I know her. She keeps assaulting me.” 

Shihyun sticks out his lower lip. It’s somewhere in between a pout and a determined little frown. “You have to meet her and gain her approval. Or else I can’t date you.”

Yongguk kind of figures Sohee’s going to hate his guts whether or not he makes nice with her and Shihyun so he tentatively nods. 

“As long as she doesn’t beat me up,” he says.

Shihyun nods. “She won’t unless you mess up again. I’ll see you later, Yongguk hyung.” Shihyun smiles a tiny bit and then does an about face and marches away. 

 

Sohee is glaring at Yongguk in a very appraising way. Yongguk squirms under the intensity of her gaze, unsure of what Sohee is hoping to discover by glaring at him so hard. Yongguk assumes she’s thinking of the quickest way to strike him dead after one mistake. 

Shihyun is talking, telling Sohee that they’ve talked about being in a real relationship and not meaninglessly hooking up, but Yongguk can tell Sohee isn’t listening and is instead going over a list of ways to murder Yongguk ten ways from Sunday. 

Shihyun rises and Yongguk scrambles to his feet. Sohee gives Shihyun a hug and a smile and then she comes over to embrace Yongguk. He leans into it warily, and for good reason, since Sohee digs her nails into his shoulder blade and leans in closer to whisper in his ear. 

“If you break my Shihyunie’s heart, I will shove you feet first through a wood chipper and make it look like a very gory accident.” 

Yongguk smiles at her weakly. It’s not like anything would really sway him from wanting to really date Shihyun but holy shit Sohee’s threats are coming close. Even so Shihyun smiles at him very sweetly and Yongguk can’t help but melt a bit. He was being serious about everything he said (though Sohee was probably equally serious about slaughtering him) and he didn’t want to mess things up or cause any more miscommunications. 

“I like you,” Yongguk announces as they’re on their way to the barbeque restaurant and Shihyun turns pink. 

“I like you too, hyung,” Shihyun says. 

Yongguk squeezes Shihyun’s hand and promises himself that he’ll be very good to him, knowing full well what awaits him if he isn’t as sweet to Shihyun as possible. Yongguk doesn’t mind avoiding that fate at all.

**Author's Note:**

> dear choon where is the the the piano version dear choon where is my son dear choon where is my son - 
> 
>  
> 
> you can follow me on Twitter @jy_kim8008 !!


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